CU-Boulder: Anti-4/20 plan 'effective'

The University of Colorado took a major step forward Friday in nipping its 4/20 smokeout in the marijuana bud: The Norlin Quad, which has in the past been the stage for 10,000 revelers, was empty as roughly 700 people gathered instead on a smaller campus field.

This year's 4/20 crackdown included several unprecedented tactics, including closing the campus to visitors, shutting down the Norlin Quad altogether and holding a free hip-hop concert for CU students in an attempt to draw them away from the smokeout that has grown in size over the past decade. CU also applied a fishy-smelling fertilizer to the lawn of the quad.

At about 4 p.m., hundreds marched through the campus in protest of the closure, making a stop at the edge of the quad but eventually settling at the smaller Duane Physics lawn where some people defiantly smoked pot at 4:20 p.m.

Police estimate that 300 gathered on the field near Duane Physics, with another 400 onlookers watching from the outskirts.

"I'd say that's a lot better than having 10,000 people, shoulder-to-shoulder for several hours in the heart of campus," said Ryan Huff, CU police spokesman. "So I would consider our plan effective."

4/20 enforcement

Police made three arrests for trespassing, issued 11 tickets for trespassing and ticketed one person for marijuana possession, according to Huff. Those who were arrested on suspicion of trespassing -- as opposed to being ticketed -- refused to leave the Norlin Quad after numerous warnings from police, Huff said.

The students arrested were Jonathan Edwards, John Demopoulos and Gabriel Kuettel, all CU seniors who crossed police lines to occupy Norlin Quad in protest of the campus closures. They were released from jail Friday evening and are scheduled to appear in Boulder Municipal Court on May 8.

Trespassing charges can carry fines up to $750 and a maximum of six months in jail.

Sarah Knotts, 59, of Boulder, was among those ticketed for trespassing. The semi-retired nurse said that while she doesn't smoke marijuana, she was opposed to the campus closure.

"I believe in the First Amendment that gives people the right to gather peacefully," she said Friday night.

The university this year gained significant momentum in quashing the unsanctioned pot smokeout -- picking up support, for the first time ever, from its student government. The city of Boulder and faculty assembly also supported the university's measures to end 4/20.

But the most significant backing was from a Boulder district judge who denied an emergency injunction that aimed to block CU from shutting down the campus.

"I think we took a really important step this year in curtailing this event," said campus spokesman Bronson Hilliard.

Still, some asserted they had a right to be on the public campus.

Alex Hessel, of Boulder, said an officer threatened to arrest him but ultimately did not.

"I didn't feel I was breaking any laws," he said. "We have the right to peacefully assemble. It's a public campus. Whatever a judge or CU says, I have a right to be here."

But CU student Andrew Varnell opposes the smokeout, saying it has potential to devalue his degree. He said he thinks those protesting were misguided.

"I'm a senior, and I worked really hard for this degree," he said. "I think this just displays an overall ignorance about the First Amendment and what it truly means."

Pot parade

Protesters of the closure began their march at Central Park on Friday afternoon, parading through downtown Boulder and the University Hill area and strengthening in numbers before moving onto the campus at about 3:40 p.m.

As they marched through the campus, they chanted: "Whose school? Our school!"

The group approached the Norlin Quad but, encountering police, instead moved to the lawn between Duane Physics and Baker Hall, where the countdown to the smokeout ensued.

There, CU physics student Daniel Schwartz was among the crowd assembled for the more modest smokeout. He wore a T-shirt that said "Security" across it and packed a pipe with tobacco instead of marijuana.

"If they say this is a party, then this is the most peaceful party ever," said Schwartz, who supports the legalization of marijuana.

Hundreds of students gathered on the fringe of the physics lawn, and those on the grassy area encouraged them to join them, declaring "safety in numbers."

Huff said that while there were certainly people smoking on the lawn, police did not engage the crowd.

CU freshman Lindsey Gardenswartz, of San Antonio, wore a T-shirt that featured Ralphie the Buffalo smoking pot and said: "Buff, Buff, Pass." She brought her hula-hoop to the physics lawn.

"I feel like this is a big deal -- it's history," she said.

Natalie Stinson had planned to smoke pot at a park at 4:20 p.m. but instead joined the small crowd on the campus.

"It's a peaceful protest," she said.

CU's tactics

Police officers and sheriff's deputies were posted at every entrance to the Boulder campus Friday.

Officers closed Norlin Quad with yellow police tape, and signs on every lamppost around the quad warned that the area was closed and "violators are subject to criminal prosecution."

Highway signs greeted commuters as they entered Boulder, warning that CU was closed to visitors.

Campus officials declined to say how many police officers were deployed Friday, other than to note that 50 to 60 officers were used last year and that number was "larger" this year. Hilliard said CU spent $55,000 dealing with 4/20 last year and expected to at least double that number this year.

At 6:30 a.m., the campus applied a fish-based fertilizer at the Norlin Quad, which disgusted some students.

By 8 a.m., the smell had dissipated significantly. There still was a distinct, acrid note in the air when the wind picked up, but students walked across the quad to morning classes without wrinkling their noses.

Hilliard said CU puts down the fish-based fertilizer around this time every year, but Friday's application was no coincidence.

"Everything that we're doing is to make it unpleasant to stand or sit or be on Norlin Quad," he said.